TL;DR

Stomach-enlivening

Come for

Who should go

Don’t leave without

Our Review

Let’s start with scale. Where are we between global flagship and neighborhood boutique?La Boqueria might be Barcelona’s oldest market—it started life in 1217 as a mere huddle of meat stalls on La Rambla—but tradition isn’t staid. More than 200 stands unite like a foodie’s choir: traders’ shouts, the clink of glasses, welcome greetings sung out ("holaaaa"). Though, for all the atmosphere, it’s the smell that gets you: warm, ocean-salty, freshly fried fish: the kind that lines your nostrils, excites your stomach, makes your physician tense, and has to be washed down with a glass of cava.

Excellent! What can we find here, or what should we look for?You can’t move for giant thighs of jamón ibérico (cured ham known as "pernil ibèric" in Catalan): pick small slices of the black-hooved pata negra pig instead of the pre-filled paper cones for the tastiest experience (though under-order: at around 10 euros, or $12, per 100g, your money won’t go far). Local specialities include botifarra, a cooked Catalan sausage rich in spices and meatiness; calçots, a winter vegetable somewhere between a spring onion and a leek, which is flame-charred and then finger-dipped in red pepper sauce (eating them elegantly is definitely a learned skill); plus turró, a sweet nougat.

If money’s no object, what goes in the cart?Not so much what, as where: shoulder-jostle your way atop a bar stool at one of La Bouqeria’s stalls-turned-eateries. El Quim de la Boqueria is famous for fried eggs with baby squid (though the oxtail risotto may be more flavorsome), or Kiosk Universal for that nose-tormenting calamari (around $17). You can’t reserve either venue, so prepare for a wait-then-pounce seat situation.

And … what if we’re on a strict budget?A fruit smoothie from the technicolored stalls as you walk in. Then do a lap: the deeper you venture, the better value the prices.

Who else shops here?Once past the swaths of tourists photographing the stained-glass entrance, the crowd is increasingly local. The back half, especially around its quirkier offal stalls, are still where chefs and quality-savvy Catalan families do their shopping.

Any secret tips, or “don’t go home without” purchases?Unlike many landmark food markets that require a 3 a.m. alarm (we’re glaring at you, Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo), don’t waste your snooze button coming before the 8 a.m. opening. The best time is 10 a.m. to midday; or, for possible bargains, before the 8:30 p.m. closing.